SLPP National Organizer and Head of the COVID19 Task force Basil Rajapaksa has accused Prime Minister's Media Secretary Rohn Welivita of lying.

Speaking to the Sunday Times newspaper, Rajapaksa has contradicted Welivita's recent media release on Temple Trees not being under lockdown. Welivita released this statement challenging a news item carried in the English newspaper a week ago.

“It is a complete lie. The Temple Trees is under a lockdown and I cannot use the offices there. If you want to find out, you can send someone there. The whole place is closed. The staff have been told to keep away from work. They have been told to work from home," Rajapaksa has told the newspaper.

According to the newspaper, Basil Rajapaksa was very livid when he declared, “The Media Secretary (Welivita) does not know what he is doing. They are bringing in a lot of embarrassment and disrepute to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa by telling untruths. The references to me are also totally false. That should never happen. They do not have the licence to do so. The Premier is not one who wants to cover up these things. He is frank and forthright at all times. We have to be transparent and not keep hiding the truth from the people. What is wrong in saying the real truth?”

The government's overall communication strategy with regard to COVID19 has come under severe criticism from various quarters for lack of clarity and transparency